Monday, December 08, 2008

The European Union (EU) Foreign Ministers postponed the sending of a temporary military mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The EU remained divided Monday Dec. 08 over whether to dispatch peacekeepers to the Democratic Republic of Congo despite a UN request.

France, the UK and Germany have ruled out an EU intervention force.

Belgium, former colonizer in Congo, was the only country in favour of the request, which also received support from Spain, Ireland, Czech Republic, Holland and Luxembourg, after a deeper study on the situation.

Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht said before the discussions there was an urgent need for bridging mission of 2,500-3,000 troops.

"It will take four to six months before the additional troops for MONUC will arrive and the humanitarian situation is dramatic over there," De Gucht told reporters.

Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband told reporters beefing up the U.N. peacekeeping force was the priority.

"Our position has always been that there is a ... a U.N. commitment to increase the size of the MONUC force, so the first port of call is for countries to see whether they can add, either at a planning or operational level to that MONUC force," said Miliband.

Monday's gathering was largely designed to prepare the groundwork for this week's EU summit of heads of state.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said ministers would discuss Mr Ban's appeal, but added: "Let me also underline that the situation on the ground is getting slightly better, and politically also."

The Brussels meeting came as the first direct talks between representatives of the Congolese government and CNDP rebels were held in Kenya.

December 08, 2008 report from the Financial Times by Helen Warrell in Brussels and Harvey Morris at the United Nations:

The European Union sidestepped an appeal by the United Nations on Monday to dispatch troops to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to avert a humanitarian catastrophe in the east of the country where war has displaced a quarter of a million civilians.

Although a statement by EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels said a formal response to the request from Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, would be forthcoming in due course, it was clear that differences among member states made the deployment unlikely.

The statement came four days after Mr Ban wrote to the EU saying a European-led force was urgently required to ensure humanitarian aid supplies reached those who had fled fighting between government and rebel forces in Congo’s North Kivu province.

The EU deployment would fill the security gap until the UN’s own peace force, Monuc, was reinforced, a process Mr Ban said could take another four months.

Belgium, Sweden, Finland, Ireland and the Netherlands have expressed support for dispatching troops, but the deployment was strenuously opposed by the UK and Germany. Bernard Kouchner, French foreign minister, expressed frustration that no firm decision had been made.

As EU ministers met in Brussels, rebel and government representatives gathered in Nairobi, Kenya for their first face-to-face talks since fighting erupted in August. Government forces have almost disintegrated in the face of an offensive by Tutsi rebels led by the renegade general Laurent Nkunda, leaving Monuc as the only organised force in the region.

Neither Mr Nkunda nor Joseph Kabila, the Congolese president who has also appealed for European peacekeepers, were present for the Nairobi talks.

Mr Ban did not specify the size of the requested European contingent but UN officials were understood to have in mind a mobile force of about 1,000 to 1,500. One of its specific tasks would be to protect the airport and government installations in Goma, where the Monuc force is based, and other centres of population in the province.

The UN Security Council approved last month an extra 3,000 troops to reinforce the 17,000-strong Monuc, already the UN’s largest peacekeeping deployment.

Alain Le Roy, the UN’s head of peacekeeping, wrote in an article at the weekend: “Civilians have suffered from intense and often chaotic fighting, driven from their homes.”

The European Union Foreign Ministers postponed the sending of a temporary military mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo despite the formal request of the United Nations.

By now, the representatives of the 27 member countries of the EU did not join criteria, and just limited themselves to reassert the support of the United Nations Organization Mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC, in French).

Javier Solanas, EU High Representative for International Relations and Common Security, said UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon sent a letter to him, in which Ki Moon asked him to think about sending troops to Democratic Congo for six months.

In that time, MONUC would increase the number of soldiers from 17,000 to 20,000.

Belgium, former colonizer in Congo, was the only country in favour of the request, which also received support from Spain, Ireland, Czech Republic, Holland and Luxembourg, after a deeper study on the situation.

Other countries such as Germany expressed their disagreement and did not take a definite position on the matter.

All the EU members will wait for the decision of the European Commission on a possible direct operation in the Congolese region of North Kivu.

The purpose of MONUC is to pacify the east of Democratic Congo, where the rebel movement led by Tutsi general Laurent Nkunda is facing governmental forces. (ef tac por)

European foreign ministers are divided over calls to send troops to the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo, the BBC revealed.

Belgium urged the deployment of a "bridging" force but other members of the bloc were lukewarm on the idea.

The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the EU on Friday to send in troops until UN reinforcements arrive.

The Brussels meeting came as the first direct talks between representatives of the Congolese government and CNDP rebels were held in Kenya.

Opening Monday's discussions in Nairobi, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said the crisis in eastern Congo was "a scar on Africa". And Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula said before the talks got underway: "Please don't let Africa down. Don't let your country down. Let this be the beginning of the end."

But the BBC says expectations for the talks are low and wider negotiations involving many of the other armed groups in the region will be needed.

About 20 armed groups were asked to join the meeting, but only representatives of Gen Laurent Nkunda's CNDP faction turned up and the two delegations met behind closed doors.

Until now the government in Kinshasa has treated the CNDP - which stands for National Congress for the Defence of the People - as just another armed rebel group.

Neither DR Congo President Joseph Kabila nor Gen Nkunda is present at the meeting. But the fact it is taking place at all is a tacit acknowledgement of the CNDP's military dominance in the region, says our correspondent.

The fighting in eastern Congo has displaced some 250,000 people since August, and the rebels have the North Kivu province capital of Goma surrounded.

At Monday's meeting in Brussels, EU foreign ministers took no decision and asked the European Commission to prepare a response to the UN secretary general.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said ministers would discuss Mr Ban's appeal, but added: "Let me also underline that the situation on the ground is getting slightly better, and politically also."

But non-governmental organisations poured scorn on any suggestion things in eastern DR Congo were improving, saying rape, murder and pillage was still rife in the region.

Despites appeals from the United Nations for peacekeeping troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the European Union is hesitant to commit. Germany, in particular, prefers a diplomatic solution.

EU foreign ministers were meeting in Brussels on Monday, Dec. 8, to discuss the UN request to send peacekeeping troops to DR Congo.

France, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, had ruled out the deployment of European forces.

But pressure on ministers to act has increased following an appeal from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, who said Europe should help reinforce UN peacekeepers in the former Belgian colony until more UN troops can be deployed.

"It is urgent that we take a decision on such a bridging force (to DR Congo), which to my mind is absolutely necessary," said Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht.

De Gucht had said earlier December that an EU peacekeeping force for DR Congo would be unlikely as no one country was prepared to lead such a mission.

EU troops ready

Some 250,000 civilians have been displaced in the east of the DR Congo since the summer as a result of renewed clashes between government forces and Tutsi rebels led by renegade general Laurent Nkunda.

De Gucht said an EU mission would need up to 3,000 heavily-armed soldiers, which would fill in immediate shortages.

The EU has two such corps, each consisting of about 1,500 soldiers, on standby. These troops are deployable at short notice anywhere in the world but have remained unused to date.

"If we don't send them to Congo, where do we send them?" Stubb asked.

Germany urges diplomacy

However, EU heavyweight Germany is among those pushing for a diplomatic solution to the DR Congo crisis.

Ministers were greeted by a few dozen protesters who were calling for action on the DR Congo question, but diplomats said they did not expect any major decision to be taken on the issue at the meeting.

Monday's gathering was largely designed to prepare the groundwork for this week's EU summit of heads of state.

The situation in Zimbabwe and relations with Pakistan were also to be discussed.

Ministers were also expected to take a look at the EU's EULEX mission in Kosovo and its naval mission off the coast of Somalia. Both missions formally begin this week.

December 08, 2008 report from Reuters by Ingrid Melander and David Brunnstrom, Brussels:

European Union ministers were split on Monday over the U.N.'s call for an EU force to boost peacekeepers in Congo, with Belgium urging the bloc send a bridging mission and Britain wanting it to bolster U.N. troops.

Last Friday, United Nation's Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon repeated a call for a EU "bridging force", saying it may take up to six months for the U.N. to deploy 3,000 more peacekeepers to Congo to boost its 17,000-strong force, known as MONUC.

The foreign ministers took no decision at a meeting in Brussels on Monday and tasked EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and the European Commission to prepare a response to Ban's letter, an EU official said.

The idea of an EU mission has been in the air for a few weeks but the bloc has so far been reluctant to commit troops, and prospects appeared to dim after Belgium said last week there was little appetite for such a mission.

Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht said before the discussions there was an urgent need for bridging mission of 2,500-3,000 troops.

"It will take four to six months before the additional troops for MONUC will arrive and the humanitarian situation is dramatic over there," De Gucht told reporters.

Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband told reporters beefing up the U.N. peacekeeping force was the priority.

"Our position has always been that there is a ... a U.N. commitment to increase the size of the MONUC force, so the first port of call is for countries to see whether they can add, either at a planning or operational level to that MONUC force," said Miliband.

Some 250,000 people have been displaced by the violence in Congo, in which forces of renegade Congolese Tutsi Gen. Laurent Nkunda has been battling pro-government militias.

Two EU "battle groups" are on standby for missions at any given time. One of those on standby until the year-end is British, while the other is led by Germany with contributions from France, Spain, Belgium and Luxembourg.

"EUROPE SHOULD BE EFFECTVE"

From January 1, Italy will head one standby battle group with forces from Spain, Portugal and Greece, and Greece the other, with troops from Bulgaria, Cyprus and Romania.

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said it was premature to say if his country would be ready to send troops in a battle group but added that some countries would call for such a deployment and he was willing to discuss it.

"One point is very clear, Europe should be effective. We cannot stay as inactive as we are now," he told reporters.

The EU's Solana said ministers would discuss Ban's call, but added: "Let me also underline that the situation on the ground is getting slightly better, and politically also."

The U.N. says fighting in Congo has triggered a humanitarian catastrophe and aid groups have criticised the EU's failure to respond with troops.

"We have had a month of every possible excuse as to why Europe will not send forces to bolster U.N. peacekeepers," said Elise Ford, Head of Office at Oxfam International in Brussels.

"Without an adequate professional force supporting U.N. peacekeepers to provide a measure of security for the population, the killing, raping and looting will continue unabated. We cannot stand by and watch."

Congo's 1998-2003 war sucked in six neighbouring armies and caused more than 5 million deaths. EU soldiers intervened in the country in 2003 to halt militia violence that grew out of the broader war and to protect 2006 elections that returned President Joseph Kabila to office.

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Anonymous said...

MJPC: An Online Museum of the Victims of War in the D.R. Congo has been launched.

Sacramento, California. 12/12/2008. The new organization known as Mobilization of Justice and Peace in the D.R. Congo (MJPC) announced today the launch of phase one of its online museum of victims of the war in the D.R.Congo. According to the project coordinator of the MJPC, Amede Kyubwa, the online museum aims to expose this war, remaining virtually invisible to the outside world despite ongoing unacceptable barbarity, and aims to expose how innocent people in Congo continue to suffer massive human rights violations while armed groups responsible for these crimes go unpunished.

The online museum, available at http://www.yoursilenceoncongo.org, is currently developing its collections policy and plan to determine the scope of the collections. "The museum will make particular use of collected images/photos of the war victims and help prevent similar catastrophes in the future," said Mr. Kyubwa.

As part of denouncing the serious war crimes going unpunished in Congo, MJPC recently launched a petition to collect signatures demanding the United Nations Mission in Congo (MONUC) to immediately arrest the notorious war criminal Nkunda. Concerned citizens from around the world are signing the petition, including those from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, the USA, Kenya, Rwanda, France, German, Denmark, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, South Africa, Malawi, Burundi, Senegal, Nigeria, Spain, Japan, the UK, Venezuela, China, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Uganda. "There is no justification for MONUC, which has more than 17,000 troops in the DRC, to not take concrete actions to arrest Nkunda who is the subject of an international arrest warrant for war crimes and crimes against humanity since 2005," added Mr. Kyubwa.

The conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo remains the deadliest conflict since World War II. More than 5 million people, mostly civilians, have died in the past decade, yet the war remains unknown. A particularly horrifying aspect of the conflict is the mass sexual violence being used as a weapon of war. Estimates are now at more than 1.3 million displaced people in North Kivu Province alone and there are more than 370,000 Congolese refugees who have sought safety in neighboring countries.

According to Mr. Kyubwa, the online museum is also designed to dignify victims by recognizing their suffering and raise public awareness regarding the importance of an urgent intervention in the eastern Congo to stop the ongoing impunity, sexual violence, crimes against humanity, and war crimes and to bring those responsible to justice without further delay.

About MJPC.MJPC (www.mjpcongo.org ) is a newly created organization seeking to add a voice in advocating for justice and peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. To visit the online museum of victims of the war in the Congo please visit http://www.yoursilenceoncongo.org . For information on signing the ongoing petition demanding the U.N. in Congo (MONUC) immediately arrest war criminal Nkunda, please visit our website. You may also call the project coordinator of MJPC, Amede Kyubwa at 916 753 5717.

Kinshasaa, D.R. Congo, April 25, 2009 — The Mobilization for Justice and Peace in the D.R. Congo (MJPC) today called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue an arrest warrant against laurent Nkunda accused of multiple war crimes and crimes against humanity which are well documented by various human right organzations including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Laurent Nkunda, former leader of the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) armed group, was arrested on 22 January and is detained at an undisclosed location in Rwanda.

How long would it take for the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Luis Moreno-Ocampo to decide whether or not to issue an arrest warrant against Nkunda? echoed Makuba Sekombo, Director of Community Affairs of MJPC. The ICC Prosecutor has been investigating war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since since 2004, but the ICC reportdely opened an investigation into alleged war crimes committed in the DRC since 1 July 2002.

Nkunda has been repeatedly implicated in numerous serious war crimes and crimes against humanity since 2002. In September 2005, the Congolese government issued an arrest warrant for Nkunda, accusing him of numerous war crimes and crimes against human rights. Human Rights Watch, for example, which has been calling for his arrest for war crimes and crimes against humanity since February 2006 and has documented summary executions, torture and rape committed by soldiers under the command of Nkunda in Bukavu in 2004 and in Kisangani in 2002. Also armed groups loyal to warlord Nkunda have been repeatedly accused of using rape as a weapon of war and the recruitment of child soldiers, some as young as 12 after the abduction from their homes. In November 2008, the UN mission in the country (MONUC), Humn Rights Watch many other organizations accused Nkunda of war crimes in November 2008; an estimated 150 people were killed innoncently in the town of Kiwanja by the troups loyal to Nkunda.

The MJPC deplores the refusal by the Government of Rwanda to hand over Nkunda for trial. “How shocking that Rwanda which has been receiving assistance from the International community to arrest genocide suspects and hand them over to the ICTR or to Rwanda would not allow for the extradition of a war criminal accused of massacring civilians, sexual violence, abduction of civilians, including children forcibly recruited as fighters and then used to attack civilian communities” said Mr. Sekombo.

“While Nkunda is not the only one who committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, the ICC arrest warrant would mark a major step in promoting accountability for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in DRC, added Sekombo. As part of its campaign to combat impunity in DRC, MJPC launched an online petition in November 2008 whic can be signed at http://www.gopetition.com/online/23604.html calling for immediate arrest of Nkunda. So far more than 1365 people from over 50 countries have signed the petition.Press Release Distribution By PressReleasePoint

MJPC Urges the ICC to Refer Congo to the UN (Security Council) on Ntaganda

"There are serious dangers in continuing to allow Congo defy the ICC arrest warrant against Ntaganda; it sends a wrong message and could have disastrous effects in other countries"

Citing the importance for the newly-created International Criminal Court (ICC) to remain an impeccably impartial institution, the MJPC reiterated its call on the ICC to refer the DR Congo to the Security Council for possible sanctions.

The MJPC (Mobilization for Justice and Peace in the Congo) warned that in the Congo as elsewhere, the ICC as a new international instrument to promote the rule of law and ensure that the gravest international crimes do not go unpunished could quickly lose its moral value if it does not take concrete steps to start enforcing its own issued arrest warrants.

"Frankly the ICC cannot put off forever bringing the DR Congo before the Security Council for its continuing refusal to execute the outstanding ICC arrest warrant against Ntaganda," said Makuba Sekombo, Director of Community Affairs of the MJPC, an organization that strongly denounces defying ICC arrest warrants in Congo. "There are serious dangers in continuing to allow Congo defy this arrest warrant, its sends a wrong message and could have disastrous effects in other countries," added Sekombo.

Ntaganda is accused of several war crimes and crimes against humanity including: the massacres of 150 people in the town of Kiwanja in 2008 in his duties as military chief of staff of the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), torturing and killing of hundreds of civilians of Lendu and Ngiti ethnicity between August 2002 and March 2003 when he was chief of military operations of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), slaughtering of at least 800 civilians on ethnic grounds at Mongbwalu, including the first priest killed in the Ituri conflict, Abbe Boniface Bwanalonga, killing of a Kenyan UN peacekeeper in January 2004 and kidnapping a Moroccan peacekeeper later that year, and recruiting child soldiers in the eastern region of Ituri. The MJPC is strongly urging the Congolese Government and MONUC to execute the arrest warrant issued by the ICC against Ntaganda.

According to Mr. Sekombo, the failure in the arrest of Bosco Ntaganda to date highlights the lack of seriousness in enforcing arrest warrants issued by the ICC and strongly urges the ICC to refer the case of Ntaganda to the UN Security Council to find solutions in accordance with Article 87, paragraph 7 of the Treaty of Rome.

The MJPC is calling for Congo to be taken to the Security Council, as it claims Kinshasa is in clear violation of the ICC treaty which Congo ratified in 2002. The ICC cannot afford to ignore its statutory responsibility to report this matter" to the Security Council," he said, adding that the Security Council would have the authority to require Congo to take all necessary corrective measures to enforce all ICC arrest warrants immediately.

An online petition has been set up asking concerned citizens around the world to demand the UN Mission in Congo known as MONUC and the Congolese Government to act decisively to enforce the ICC outstanding arrest warrants against Ntaganda. The petition can be signed at http://www.gopetition.com.au/online/24459.html

Click here http://www.arrestntagandanow.org/may112009.aspx to read a full article on referring Congo to the UN Security Council if it continues to defy the execution of the Arrest Warrant of the ICC Against Ntaganda by Makuba Sekombo

About MJPCMJPC is a non-profit organization working to add a voice in advocating for justice and peace in the DRC particulary in the east of DRC where thousands innocent civilian including children and women continue to suffer massive human rights violations while armed groups responsible for these crimes go unpunished.

For more information about the MJPC and its activities, visit http://www.mjpcongo.org . or call Makuba Sekembo @ 1 408 806 3644 or e-mail: info@mjpcongo.org . The online petition calling on the Congolese Government and MONUC to act decisively in enforcing the outstanding ICC arrest warrant against Bosco Ntaganda can be signed at http://www.gopetition.com.au/online/24459.html

MJPC Joined HRW in Calling to Hold the Congolese Army Accountable for War Crimes

"Failing to hold accountable soldiers who commit war crimes and crimes against humunity will result in conitnued sexual violence against girls and women in the DR Congo" says MJPC

The Mobilization for Justice and Peace in the DR Congo (MJPC) called for a full inquiry into new allegations of continuing rape and sexual violence committed by the Congolese Army after a recent report by Human Rights Watch revealed shocking new evidence. The report documents how the Congolese Army (FARDC) has been committing serious human rights abuses that amount to war crimes in East Congo and calls on the UN Security Council to demand the Congolese Government to immediatly investigate and hold accountable soldiers responsible for war crimes.

The MJPC is gravely concerned at continuing reports of sexual violence in eastern Congo. Makuba Sekombo, MJPC's Community Affairs Director, stresses "paramount importance of sending a clear message to all armed groups in the region – and to the victims of sexual violence in the DR Congo – that rape and other forms of sexual violence are unacceptable and will not be tolerated regardless of the circumstances". "Congolese army officers are not above international criminal law", and "Congo has clear international law obligations to do something effective to protect girls and women from sexual violence" added Sekombo.

Rather than receiving appropriate medical and psychosocial care, women and child survivors of rape and sexual violence in eastern Congo continue to face rejection and stigma while the perpetrators of the crime go unpunished. The MJPC has launched an online petition calling on the Congolese Government to put urgently in place a comprehensive program of compensation for the victims of sexual violence which will encourage victims of sexual violence in Eastern Congo to report perpetrators to police and to express their needs for access to medical treatment, psychological services and other social resources. The petition can be signed at http://www.gopetition.com.au/online/26180.html . "While no amount of money can reverse or address the impact of sexual violence on victims, the MJPC maintains that in this way, society at large, through the government, can acknowledge the humiliation suffered, shock and pain experienced by victims and provide the resources to help victims rebuild their lives.

About MJPCMJPC is a non-profit organization working to add a voice in advocating for justice and peace in the DRC particulary in the east of DRC where thousands innocent civilian including children and women continue to suffer massive human rights violations while armed groups responsible for these crimes go unpunished.

MJPC blames the Congolese Government for the Deteriorating Situation in East Congo(DRC)

"There is no excuse for missing to pay salaries to soldiers in lawless eastern Congo for six months"

Following the deteriorating situation in east Congo, the MJPC called today for the Congolese Government to urgently pay the salaries to thousands of soldiers who have not been paid for over six months in eastern Congo, take swift action to enforce the International Criminal Court's (ICC) warrant against Bosco Ntaganda and to hold accountable perpetrators of sexual violence against women for their acts.

"Failing to hold accountable individuals who commit war crimes and crimes against humunity continues to be the leading cause of widespread and systematic sexual violence acts against girls and women in the easten Congo" said Makuba Sekombo, Community Affairs Director of the Mobilization for Justice and Peace in the DR Congo (MJPC).

Mr. Sekombo again criticized the government of Congo for not only the continuing failure to protect women and young girls from sexual violence, but also for "encouraging conditions that create opportunities for sexual violence to occur". "There is no excuse for missing to pay salaries to soldiers in the lawless eastern Congo for six months" said Sekombo.

The MJPC has also renewed its call for the Congolese government to take urgent needed action to end human rights abuses in east Congo, hold perpetrators accountable and ensure reparation for the victims of sexual violence.

The MJPC has been urging the Congolese government to compensate the victims of sexual violence in order to also help combat impunity in eastern part of Congo where sexual violence against women and children has been widely used as weapon of war for more than decade. The MJPC online petition calling for for help to put pressure on Congolese Government to compensate victims of sexual siolence in Eastern DRC can be signed at http://www.gopetition.com.au/online/26180.html

About MJPC MJPC works to add a voice in advocating for justice and peace in the DRC particulary in the east of DRC where thousands innocent civilian including children and women continue to suffer massive human rights violations while armed groups responsible for these crimes go unpunished

For more information about the MJPC and its activities, visit http://www.mjpcongo.org. or call Makuba Sekombo @ 1-408-8063-644 or e-mail: info@mjpcongo.org. The online petition calling on the Congolese Government to put urgently in place a comprehensive program of compensation for the victims of sexual violence in eastern Congo can be signed at http://www.gopetition.com.au/online/26180.html

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